Walking out of this stop-art toon, you wonder how much the big-name voice cast were paid to stand in Hollywood sound booths to, quite literally, phone in their parts.

Presumably Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg topped-up their credits to the tune of thousands but you, on the other hand, are advised to hang up on this week’s second-most excruciating film after Pride.

This sort of kids’ flick, based on the novel Here Be Monsters, imagines a cheese-adoring civilization terrified of misunderstood trolls living under their feet.

It then takes an underworld rebel to bring about change in their society.

Although this is brought to us by the makers of Coraline and ParaNorman, the earlier films’ knowing, child-aware sense of menace is nowhere to be seen.

The Boxtrolls, certificate PG, running time 97 mins

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